Apparatus for emptying reels of web material field

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for emptying a reel on which a web of material is wound in layers. A frame supports the reel. A carriage is mounted on the frame for reciprocal movement longitudinally in a first direction and in a second direction opposite the first direction over the reel. A knife is mounted on the carriage for movement with the carriage to cut sheets of material from the web as the carriage moves over the reel. A plough removes cut sheets of the material from the reel as the carriage moves over the reel.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for emptying reels of webmaterial.

BACKGROUND

In the manufacture of web-shaped material on reels, it is relativelyoften necessary to reject a number of reels and to take care of returnedreels which are damaged in one way or another and which will not beaccepted by customers. Such broken reels are to be emptied of theweb-shaped material on the reels. The material is to be recycled by, forexample, being comminuted and dissolved into pulp in order later tobecome new paper. The core of the reel, in the form of a sleeve, is tobe taken care of and re-used. The reason for this is that it is notdesirable to comminute and dissolve the sleeve material, since thisshould not be included in the pulp. Prior art reel dividers orguillotines have proved to suffer from drawbacks in the form of, amongother things, complex design and construction, lack of versatility, andabove all high costs, as well as the fact that they often damage thesleeve (the core) so that this cannot be re-used.

The task forming the basis of the present invention is to provide anovel apparatus overcoming these problems.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides an apparatus which is relatively simplefrom the design and construction point of view, and which has proved tobe extremely efficient and versatile. The apparatus according to thepresent invention is extremely simple to adapt to different types ofmaterial, e.g. fine paper, paperboard, tissue, plastic, and foils oftypes such as aluminum foil. The relatively simple design andconstruction moreover guarantee a high dependability and simplemaintenance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detailhereinbelow, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of one embodiment of anapparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 1, of another embodiment of anapparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a shuttle carriage for an apparatusaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a part of an apparatusaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiment of an apparatus according to the present inventionschematically illustrated in FIG. 1 has a frame 1 in the form of aninverted U with feet 2, 3, 4 and 5. Between the vertical shanks in theframe 1, a beam or boom 6 extends which is displaceable up and down inthe frame 1. The beam or boom 6 carries side supports 7 and 8 which aredisplaceable in the longitudinal direction of the boom or beam 6 foradapting to each end of a paper reel 9 which is placed in the frame 1and may rest on a per se conventional pallet 10. After placing of theside supports 7 and 8 against the ends of the paper reel 9, it isappropriate to lock the side supports 7 and 8 in the desired position.

A shuttle-like carriage 11 is displaceable reciprocally on the boom orbeam 6 between the side supports 7 and 8. The carriage 11 supports aroller knife 12 and a plough 13 with two flaps 14 and 15. The plough 13is double-directed and the flaps 14 and 15 are adjustable for adaptationto the direction of movement of the plough 13 and the carriage 11.

In FIG. 1 the parts are shown with the roller knife 12 during cuttingwork on movement from left to right on the reel 9. The layers or sheetscut through during the preceding stroke have already fallen down ontothe pallet 10. The boom or beam 6 is fed progressively down towards thecenter of the reel 9. This downward movement ceases when the sleeve inthe reel 9 is reached, whereafter the pallet 10 with the severed sheetsis conveyed off for recycling. The sleeve is taken care of for possiblere-use. The beam or boom 6 is returned to its starting position,whereafter a new damaged reel may be placed in the frame 1. The beam orboom 6 is displaceable by means of screws of the like disposed in theframe legs.

In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2, theframe 1 is disposed on a leg 16 on one side of the reel 9 and a leg 17on the other side of the reel 9. In the legs 16 and 17, there areprovided pins 18 for engagement in the sleeve of the reel 9 to lift thereel up towards the shuttle carriage 11 with the roller knife 12 and theplough 13. In this embodiment, the severed sheets are deposited belowthe reel 9 and may be transported off in any suitable manner. Possibly,a conveyer may be provided for continuous removal of the sheets.

FIG. 3 shows the carriage 11 in greater detail with the knife 12, theplough 13 and the flaps 14 and 15. It has proved to be suitable that theknife 12 rotate when cutting such web-shaped material as fine paper andpaperboard, while the knife 12 may suitably be stationary when cuttingsuch material as, for example, tissue. The carriage 11 is suitablyconnected to a linear prime mover, for example a pneumatic cylinder, aso-called shuttle cylinder, for reciprocal displacement between the endsof the reel 9. Suitably, the roller knife 12 is freely running, but itmay be either stationary or driven, depending upon the differentmaterial qualities. FIG. 3 illustrates more closely that the flaps 14and 15 are secured on the plough 13 with the aid of hinges 19 centrallypositioned on the plough 13 and permitting pivoting of the flaps 14 and15 from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to the position illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2.

The roller knife 12 is mounted on a hub or shaft 20 at the end of aswing or end walls forming the shuttle carriage 11. The swing may bepivotal for angular positioning of the roller knife 12 and the plough 13in relation to the longitudinal axis of the reel 9. The roller knife 12may, as was mentioned above, be freely rotated, driven or locked,depending upon the material variety on the reel 9. The shuttle carriage11 may be mounted on a shuttle piston in a shuttle cylinder. Such anarrangement is exemplified in FIG. 4 which is described in greaterdetail below. The plough 13 may be suspended by bolts which extend froma plate which is connected to the shuttle carriage 11 with the aid of acarrier or stub shaft. With the aid of the bolts, it is possible toadjust the plough in relation to the roller knife 12. The flaps 14 and15 may be switchable with the aid of pistons which are suitably of thepneumatic type.

The arrangement exemplified in FIG. 4 displays a shuttle cylinder 27with three pistons 28, 29 and 30. The piston 29 supports the shuttle 11with the roller knife 12, while the side supports 7 and 8 are mounted onthe pistons 28 and 30, respectively, the side supports 7 and 8 beingurged against the ends of the reel 9. The pistons 28, 29 and 30 dividethe shuttle cylinder 27 into four chambers 31, 32, 33 and 34. When thechambers 31 and 34 are pressurized, the side supports 7 and 8 are urgedagainst the ends of the reel 9. A somewhat lower pressure in the chamber32 will displace the piston 29 with the shuttle 11 and the roller knife12 from the piston 28 towards the piston 30. When the roller knife 12has reached or passed the end of the paper reel 9, the pressurization isswitched from the chamber 32 to the chamber 33 and the flaps 14 and 15are switched for displacement of the roller knife 12 towards the piston28, and thereby the other end of the reel 9. As previously, the cylinder27 is progressively displaced towards the reel 9 in suitable cuttingdepths, or the reel 9 is displaced upwards towards the cylinder 27.

When cutting such a material variety as tissue, it has proved to besuitable to maintain the roller knife 12 stationary and employ air jetsas the plough instead of the mechanical plough 12 with the flaps 14 and15 described in the foregoing.

Many modifications are naturally possible without departing from thescope of the inventive concept.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for emptying a reel on which a webof material is wound in layers, the reel having a longitudinal axis,said apparatus comprising: a frame for supporting the reel; a carriagemounted on said frame for reciprocal movement longitudinally in a firstdirection and in a second direction opposite the first direction overthe reel when the reel is supported on said frame; a knife mounted onsaid carriage for movement with said carriage to cut layers of the webof material into sheets as said carriage moves both in the firstdirection and in the second direction over the reel when the reel issupported on said frame; and a plough, separate from said knife, forremoving cut sheets of the material from the reel and causing the cutsheets of the material to fall from the reel as said carriage moves inthe first direction and as said carriage moves in the second directionover the reel when the reel is supported on said frame.
 2. An apparatusas claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a pneumatic cylinder; apiston dividing said pneumatic cylinder into first and second chambers;and means for controlling pressure within said first and second chambersto move said piston; and wherein said carriage is mounted on said pistonfor movement therewith, to move said knife over the reel when the reelis supported on said frame.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein said knife is a roller knife.
 4. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said knife extends closer to the material than does theplough when the reel is supported on said frame.
 5. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said plough includes a pair of flaps whichbroaden said plough.
 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidplough is mounted on said carriage.
 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim1, wherein said plough has a first end, for removing the cut sheets ofthe material as said carriage moves in the first direction over thereel, and a second end, for removing the cut sheets of the material assaid carriage moves in the second direction over the reel.
 8. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said plough includes a pair ofhinged flaps movable between a first position, in which said flapsbroaden said plough as said plough moves in the first direction, and asecond position, in which said flaps broaden said plough as said ploughmoves in the second direction.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,further comprising a beam on which said carriage is mounted, said beambeing mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from the reelwhen the reel is supported on said frame so as to maintain said knife incontact with the web of material when the reel is supported on saidframe.
 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising: apneumatic cylinder within said beam; a piston dividing said pneumaticcylinder into first and second chambers; and means for controllingpressure within said first and second chambers to move said piston onsaid beam, and wherein said carriage is mounted on said piston formovement therewith, to move said knife over the reel when the reel issupported on said frame.